China Aims To Become The First Country To Launch An Orbital Solar Power Plant, With Construction Starting In 2022

With the Aim of Becoming the First Country to Launch a Solar Power Plant in Earth’s Orbit, China Plans to Start Construction in 2022 to Test How Energy Transfer Will Be Done

China aims to become the first country to deploy a solar power plant in Earth’s orbit. The construction of its experiment is set to begin in 2022, with the expectation that by 2030 the plant will be fully operational in orbit.

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The Space Solar Power Plant Could Bring Advantages

The structure of China’s plant is planned to be placed in geostationary orbit, at an altitude of 35,786 kilometers, where it will have the capability to remain above a selected point on Earth constantly, stated Long Lehao, chief designer of China’s Changzheng-9 rocket series, during a presentation made in Hong Kong.

The project includes the construction of large solar power panels in orbit. The advantage the plant offers is the ability to receive almost constant solar energy, even when weather conditions are not suitable.

The plan is for energy to be transmitted to Earth using lasers or microwaves. China’s plant is expected to begin with a small energy transfer experiment in 2022, and by 2030, with the construction completed and ready to be launched into orbit.

The Future of China’s Solar Power Plant

In addition to this megawatt-class plant, scientists in the country aim to establish a gigawatt-class commercial solar power plant by 2050. According to calculations, this estimate will require more than a hundred launches of the Changzheng-9 rocket.

According to Long Lehao and Qi Faren, an important designer of China’s space technology, the construction of the plant may face several challenges, as scientists must address issues related to the project’s economic viability. They state that it is necessary to resolve safety issues in energy transmission and also to reduce construction costs.

Orbital Solar Power Plants

An old plan involving ideas for solar power plants of this type has been proposed before by various countries in addition to China, such as Japan and the United States.

The solar power project in China was mentioned in the country’s plans as early as 2008, and it was only in 2019 that the China Academy of Space Technology in the city of Chongqing began construction of an experimental base for the initiation of tests on wireless energy transmission methods.